Clarke-Sensei?
by NemesisT-02
Summary: Rewrite of a previous story- Monsters surround him in an unfamiliar land, but these ones aren't out for his blood. These are the ones that need his help, but can he stem the darkness inside himself? The very thing he fought has taken a new hold on Isaac, one that his will to live can't fight off.
1. Chapter 1

**All right. From the ground up, and over the corpse of the original. This is closer to how I originally imagined my story, but when I first typed it, I couldn't translate it well. Now I believe, I can write this how I wanted it, needed it to be, and ultimately, will be. I've spent these last few months with writer's block looming over me, crushing my integrity. No longer will I suffer this. **

**I'll keep the original up for anyone to read. It'll be great to hear from old readers as well as new readers.**

**If you are a new reader, I ask you take a bit of time to read my older variation. It'll give you a basis of what I'm doing, but this one will vary extensively. (This story will be better)**

**As always, everything that I don't specify as mine, is the property of their respective owners. I seek no financial gain from writing this.**

Isaac blankly stared at the wall of ice that surrounded him, a few frigid tears stuck to his face. He didn't know how he was alive, but he wished he wasn't. His COM-unit was damaged, and he couldn't summon the will to try and get out.

A sharp cry of static came from his RIG, shaking him from his stupor.

"Isaac? Isaac, are you there?" _Ellie? She's alive! _The engineer tried to clear up the signal, seeing as static covered most of what she was saying. The static didn't clear up due to the transmitter's crushed relay. It was a miracle it was able to pick up Ellie's transmission at all.

_I need to get out of here. She may leave the system if I waste too much time._ He looked around again, not seeing anything that would help him. So, he took off his kinesis module. Shifting some of the power nodes into overcharging the device, he made a makeshift kinetic bomb.

_I hope this works. _He set two nodes to overlap the charges, and tossed it to the farthest wall. He could already see the focusing emitter spark out, and a field of kinetic energy build around the device. It went with a dull thump, shattering the ice around him. Large shards glanced off his armor as he plowed through the falling ice to what he assumed to be daylight. Never had he felt so relieved to see the destruction that he saw surrounding him.

He was miles away from the impact site of the Moon, and he couldn't care less as to why he was over here. He was alive, and Ellie was waiting for him. He just had to locate either a COM-unit or have his RIG repaired, he didn't care which it was. Nonetheless, there was a path to his left marked by lights. It was safe to say there was a station nearby that would be of use.

_Where's Carver? _The last time Isaac saw him, the marine had been yanked off the platform. He was most likely dead for all intents and purposes. Isaac's boot caught on something as he trudged. His cutter was lodged into the ground, but gave little resistance when he pulled on the grip. Everything besides the alignment blades were in working order, so he quickly removed the warped pieces. The tool would run well enough without them.

He continued down the path, avoiding the occasional icicle falling. To his amazement, there was an intact building huddled into the wall. It had be a small station to heat up in the frigid land, and it would be safe to say that there would be a suit station built in. Wasting no time, he quickly unlocked the door. True to his thoughts, there was!

Isaac quickly opened up the interface, and silently cursed. The machine only had a spare engineering suit, no repair functions at all! It'd have to do, at least for now. He entered the proper command to begin the suit-swapping. The mechanical arms descended, and he walked into the suit cradle. As usual, the occasional tug on the RIG caused a pinch on his spine.

It was over before he knew it, and he emerged from the station re-armored. Now he had the time to spare to look around, and was rather unimpressed. It was plain, but he liked plain right now. It was preferable to the alternative. On a table, he spotted a climbing pick along with another kinesis module. Considering his boots lacked the proper treading for ice and snow, he'd need anything to help him traverse the glacial land.

Seeing as the room contained nothing else, he left the warmth of the shack, and embraced the cold. The freezing winds didn't bother him as much, but the wind wasn't what he feared right now. The only path left would require him to shimmy along the ice on a 6-inch shelf jutting out.

The first few steps were easy, but then came the cracking. His next few steps were hurried, and he almost lost his balance a few times. Exhaustion only helped to increase his unsteadiness on his feet. He gripped the walls along the path to avoid slipping, but it didn't help.

One foot slipped, dragging him over the edge as he no longer had any purchase. He grasped for anything as he fell, barely managing to snag a jagged edge.

"SHIT!" He needed to think of something quick, lest he fall to his death. He snatched up the pick from his left side, and stabbed it into the wall next to him. Using his Kinesis, he tethered himself to the tool.

_Please work, please work, please work_ Isaac quickly modified the module's emitter, while decreasing the pull from the miniature tractor beam. The tether began to "stretch", and he started to descend.

The engineer had only gone a few meters when the beam reeled in the pick, causing him to fall.

_WHAT THE SH- _He hadn't fallen for very long, a few seconds at the most. It was enough, as his back made contact with something sharp. The object went through the RIG, snapping ribs like twigs, and pierced his lung. The familiar taste of blood filled his mouth.

He tried to scream, only to start choking on his own blood. He thrashed side to side, his strength nearly failing him as he did. It worked though, as whatever he was impaled on snapped. More snapping was heard as he hit the ground, but it was his ribs, or that's what he believed in his delirium of blood loss.

Clicking popped into his ears, and he regarded a faint form encroach on him. The few details he spotted horrified him, pumping fresh adrenaline into his system. His vision cleared minutely, and he spotted a blue suit. He'd only met one person who had worn that, but he was dead. Still was.

Norton's corpse had turned into a Slasher.

"Son uh fa bitch!" Isaac stumbled to his feet, a pool of blood left from where he lied. He ran for what life he had left, and slammed into metal. He shifted around it, he had to go. Yet, he noticed something glowing on the other side.

_Shockpoint… Kill the bastard…_ He stumbled over to the open Drive core, grabbing his cutter as he did. He aimed, accepting what he was going to do.

_I'm sorry Ellie…_ One trigger pull sliced through the Drive's protective container, and ruptured the delicate balance it was kept in. The energy imploded, and then expanded, swallowing everything within 3 kilometers.

**Elsewhere…**

Water… It was cool, soothing, and he didn't want to move. But his damn chest! It wouldn't stop itching!

_**WAIT! I'M DEAD! **_He fumbled with his helmet, finally unlocking it. It was tossed to the side, and he saw why his chest itched. A chunk of a Marker was lodged in him, and the wound was healing rapidly.

_**NO NO NO NO **_Uselessly, he clawed at it. He slammed his fist into it, hoping to dislodge it. Useless like the last time. He felt it, something clawing in his head.

And like that, everything turned a dark, hazy, and sickly orange…

**Chapter 1: Pain – End**

**Reviews are welcome. Hope you guys enjoyed it. I certainly did.**

**Next chapter will be up whenever it's up. I've got plans.**

** Till next time, Nemesis out**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Sorry for the long time in between updates. College has been kicking my arse, but I'm finding my free time lately. I want to get these out monthly at the most. I can't help it, but I feel bad for not being able to update these sooner for you guys.**

**Also, thanks to all the readers and reviewers.**

**To answer those who've reviewed:**

**SharkManGorilla (Badass name) Thanks, I just hope I can continue this in a spectacular fashion.**

**Mastermind (Simply elegant.) Of course there will be Necromorphs, a Dead Space story isn't complete without those horrible recombinators.**

**Kirbymaniac92 (I hope you mean the little pink void) I plan to.**

**So, without further ado, onto the story. **

He felt horrible, as if a bomb had went off in his chest. Shakily, he sat up from whatever he was laying on. He could smell antiseptic as well as a bit of mixed in blood.

"I wouldn't suggest doing so, Mr. Clarke." Even in the midst of the pain, He reached for his cutter and put space in between him and the voice. He had grabbed empty air. He opened his eyes to check what he already knew.

"I assure you, you've no need for your tool right now. You are perfectly safe here." Isaac finally looked at the man, and was less than relieved. The man wore a white robe, it was obviously something ceremonial. Probably the most unnerving trait that he noticed on the robed-man was the glowing eyes. Luckily, Isaac spotted his cutter in his peripheral.

"Mr. Clarke, I am Tenmei Mikogami, Headmaster of this institution."

_Institution? _

"I run a school for monsters, to teach them the ways of humans, so we could coexist with those who wouldn't understand us." Isaac started to chuckle in response.

"I'm leaving, this is ridiculous." The robed man, Tenmei, grinned devilishly.

"I'd assumed as much." Isaac had snatched up his cutter, and stood up, albeit painfully.

"Before you go, do you remember what happened?" The engineer stopped dead in his tracks. He should just go, but his sense of morbid curiosity got the best of him.

"The Marker Shard, the lake, your almost vicious slaughter of a few of my students, and you perishing only to be brought back." Now he was mortified.

_What happened? What did I do? What about the Marker Shard? _Unconsciously, he placed a hand on his chest.

It came in bits and pieces. A tree here, a person there. One thing he noticed was a gritty orange hue covering his eyes, something he remembered from his time under the Marker's influence on Titan.

_The Marker Shard took control…_

"Exactly, Mr. Clarke. For a time, you became what you fought against. The very monsters that took your beloved Nicole, and what banished you from your precious Ellie's company forever. In the end, those monsters got the last laugh. Disappointing, isn't it?"

"Wait. What do you mean banished forever?! And how do you know about the Marker?!" Isaac spotted the man's grin falter.

"You can't go back. This is another realm of possibility. My sincerest apologies, Mr. Clarke."

_The Shockpoint drive sent me another realm of possibility? A different universe?_

"NO! THERE HAS TO BE A WAY BACK!" Isaac knew well enough the man wasn't lying, but that didn't make it hurt any less. He let himself fall back onto the bed, feeling hollower than he had ever felt before.

"I'm telling you this, because I want to give you a chance."

"A chance at what?"

"A chance to start over. I need new staff, and those with different outlooks on life, are preferred. Especially ones that don't want to eat humans." Isaac stayed quiet, thinking over everything.

"I'll give you time to get things in order. I've set aside a room for you till you decide. If you choose not to join, I'll send you on your way with funds. Find Shizuka Nekonomei when you'd like to go to your room. She'll help you." Tenmei stood up, and began to leave.

"One more thing", he rummaged in his robe, and removed a small bracelet. "This is a Holy Lock. Your affliction is not magical in nature, but it is still susceptible to the effects of my magic." Isaac sat straight up.

"Holy Lock? What affliction?" The robed man smiled again.

"Don't you remember? I said you became what you had fought against. You became a Necromorph. This lock will prevent you from succumbing to it, both in body and mind." Tenmei threw the lock into Isaac's lap.

"If you value your life, as well as the life of others, you'll wear it. Eventually, I imagine, I'll be able to purify you of this affliction." He left after that, leaving a shell-shocked Isaac alone in the room.

"What?"

-One hour later-

Isaac hadn't moved a muscle since Tenmei had left.

_I have to do something…_

_But what?_ A knocking came from the door.

"Is anybody in here?" A woman's voice came from the other side of the door.

"Yes." The door opened, and Isaac spotted the woman in the doorway. She must've been mid to late 30s, with blond hair and glasses. Oddly enough, she had what looked like cat ears sprouting out from her hair.

"Are you Isaac Clarke?" He nodded. She perked up.

"Great! The Chairman told me to come get you, if you didn't visit me after an hour." He nodded again.

"So, are you the new arithmetic teacher? Because our last one was just a creep."

"No. I could, but I don't know if I want to." She turned her head in a confused manner.

"Oh. I'll take you to your room then."

"Thanks." He silently followed the woman, who'd occasionally glance back with a worried look.

"So, where are you from?"

"Earth originally."

"Originally? As in you've lived somewhere else?"

"Yes."

"Does that mean you are an alien?" She turned around almost immediately. He hesitated.

"No…" Shizuka frowned, but only for a second.

"Well, it'd be cool if you were. All we have here are boring old monsters." Before he could silence himself, he asked her a question.

"What type of monster are you?"

"Oh, me? I'm a Nekomusume, a cat demon, you could say."

_Makes sense._

"If you aren't an alien, what are you?" Again, he hesitated.

"I-I'm human." Just saying that gnawed at him.

_You aren't human anymore…_

"You don't seem too sure of that, Mr. Clarke…" She was starting to get on his nerves.

"Just lay off of it, okay?" He came off ruder than what he had hoped. He could see the shock in the woman's face.

_I guess she was trying to make friendly conversation._

"Here's your room, and the key." Shizuka had a dejected look on her face, but was still polite.

"Thank you."

"If you need anything, I'm across the hall." He nodded silently.

"Have a good night, Mr. Clarke." She walked to the adjacent room, and unlocked the door. She waved before heading inside.

_I'm an ass._ He entered the room, and didn't bother to turn on the lights. It was a single room, a cot on one side with a desk on the other. Plenty of free space.

_I could fit a workbench in here… _An idea struck him. He was almost positive more things had come with him from the Shockpoint detonation. He needs something familiar around him, it'll help him.

"I'll check tomorrow. I have time." He sighed.

"All the time in the world, I guess." His limbs felt heavy, so he just fell onto the cot.

-The following day-

His ears were frigid, but it didn't bother him. What bothered him was his dream. He was shaking, a cold sweat had broken out, and he was staring at the roof.

"That's what must've happened."

_Everything he saw was filtered through a grainy orange lens, it had him sick to his stomach. Nonetheless, his main issue was that his body was moving. Lurching through a forest that he didn't recognize. Not that he would recognize a forest._

_Everything seemed plain enough, just shuffling through dead trees. He heard voices, and whatever now led his body heard them as well._

"_Hey, why are we coming out here?" It was a woman's voice. Couldn't be too far off._

"_Didn't you see that thing in the sky? It looked like something tore the barrier apart, and fell in." A male's voice had joined in. It didn't take too long for him to finally spot the ones who owned the voices. They were teenagers, in strange uniforms of a weird hue of green. Strangely enough, the girl had pink hair._

"_Hey, what is that?" Isaac's body must've shifted into their view. _

_In this dream stupor, he noticed the girl cringing. The guy stood in front of the girl, a defensive reaction._

"_Are you okay?" His body started shuffling faster, and his jaw felt like it was splitting. It felt horrible, and he knew he shouldn't feel it. His vision started to shake, and the people started to yell. In that moment, he knew they were dead._

_Isaac's body started a full out sprint, bum-rushing the guy, and knocking him over. The boy flailed his arm, and caught the girl's choker. What Isaac saw stunned him, but not his body. The girl's hair was changing colors, from pink to an unnatural silver. Her eyes also became crimson slits. Something was even more off that what he'd thought._

_The girl said something, and kicked Isaac's body. He flew suddenly, she was inhumanly strong! He must've flown through a few trees. He didn't feel it this time._

_It just couldn't have ended there. His body stood again, and flung itself towards the girl. She responded in kind with a drawn back fist. He saw her fist fly forward, and saw as it impacted his chest, and went through. _

_That was where it ended._

After that, he quickly washed his face, feeling along where he felt the pain in his jaw. He left not long after, he needed to find some things in the lake. He was sure there'd be something there, or more so, he hoped that something was there.

As he left the room, he heard the adjacent room open up.

"Morning, Mr. Clarke!" Shizuka was a chipper as she had been when they first met. She acted as if nothing happened.

"Morning." Naturally, he was going to walk off, but stopped himself.

"Sorry about yesterday."

"Don't worry about it. You seemed stressed out, meow."

_Did she just say meow?_

"Could you tell me where the lake is? I think I may have lost a few things there." She nodded enthusiastically.

"Well, I can't from memory, but the Chairman gave me a map for you. I forgot to give it to you." She ran back into her room, and brought out a folded paper.

"This map has the entire school grounds mapped onto it."

"Thank you." He unfolded the map, and allowed his RIG to scan the map. He threw it in a suit pocket nonetheless. Shizuka only gawked at the tech.

"Mr. Clarke, do you have a phone? You know, just in case something happens?"

"Like what?" The woman sheepishly rubbed her arm.

"You reek of human, and a lot of people here would rather eat a human than talk to them." He nodded, he guessed as much.

"My RIG can probably contact phones from this era. Can I see your phone?" She nodded, and passed the device over. Another quick scan, and he was tapped into their comms.

"I'll call if something comes up, and thanks again."

"Anytime, Mr. Clarke." She looked at her watch.

"Oh no, I'm late!" The woman groaned as she ran off, leaving Isaac to chuckle at her.

_She's a natural clutz, unlike Ellie._ What smile he had was slapped off his face. He had to get his mind on something else, he'd waste away if he didn't. So, He began his walk to the lake, forcing everything into the back of his mind. He felt a few tears sting his cheeks, the pain wouldn't be swept aside like Nicole had been.

Isaac had always known that fighting for his life was a way to put emotional pain in the past, but he wasn't fighting now, and the pain was all too fresh.

"Excuse me? Sir?" Isaac turned to see who was talking, and came face to face with the boy from his dream. His stomach dropped.

"Yes?" He needed to remain casual, if only for his sake.

"Are you okay? After what Moka did?"

"Yeah, fine." As much as he could, Isaac was trying to tell the kid to go elsewhere without saying it.

"Oh, good." The guy looked immensely relieved.

"I'm Tsukune Aono, a student here." The boy held out his hand.

"I need to go." Isaac left the kid there, he could feel a panic attack coming on. His head ached something fierce, and he was nauseous. That kid was better off not knowing who he was. Hell, Isaac was better off not running into him or the girl.

It didn't take him too long to get to the lake after running into that Tsukune kid. The water was a bit muddy at the edges, but further in, it cleared up.

It'd be great if he still had his helmet, he could just walk in.

"HEY!" The kid was running at him.

"What do you want?" This was not helping him at all.

"I found this yesterday." Tsukune pulled an object out of his bag. The familiar brown plating told him all he needed to know.

"My helmet…" He lightly took it from the kid, and looked it over for damage. It still worked, so he slid it on. He felt the suit re-seal with the helmet, and a strange calm settled over him. He was protected now, he was safe.

"Thank you."

"It's no problem… Seems like you are having a bad day though."

"You have no idea… It was Tsukune, right?" The kid nodded.

"Sorry for earlier, and yesterday." He felt the pain in his skull again.

"I wasn't myself."

"It's fine, Moka and I didn't get hurt. Heck, you got the worst of it."

_That I did._

"If you don't mind me asking, what type of monster are you? None that I can think of can come back from a wound like that."

"I don't know…" Isaac walked to a nearby tree, and sat down by it.

"This time yesterday, I was a human fighting for my life. For the lives of the rest of humankind as well." The kid sat by a nearby tree as well.

"Now, I'm some hybrid monster. The very things I fought are now a part of me." Tsukune nodded.

"I used to be human too, until I came here."

"What are you now?"

"A ghoul. It's a human who's been injected with vampire blood. Their mindless, bloodthirsty monsters." Isaac was about to say something about that, but Tsukune beat him to it.

"Luckily, I got this Holy Lock from the Chairman. Keeps me from killing my friends." He shook his wrist to show the bracelet. Isaac only stared at his.

"That Headmaster guy gave me one as well." Both of them bared their Holy Locks.

"Kid, I got to grab a few things from the bottom of the lake. You should head back to class, or to your friends. I got nothing to add to your life."

"Okay." Tsukune stood up, and began to walk off.

"Sir. We don't hold anything against you, especially now that I know something about what you are going through." He left with a smile and a wave.

_Hold's nothing against me? I nearly killed him. _It didn't matter now, he needed to get his things out of the water. A glimmer of hope crossed his mind as he waded into the water.

-Isaac's room-

He was able to recover a functioning Workbench, and enough spare materials to do some repairs. First on his list of repairs was a replacement Kinesis module. It had proven its worth time and time again.

Not long after fixing up a new Kinesis module, someone knocked at his door. In a snap, his blade-less cutter was aimed at the door.

_Old habits die hard_

"Mr. Clarke? Are you in there?" It was Shizuka.

"Yeah." Lowering his cutter, he unlocked the door.

"Hi, Shizuka." She gave him a smile.

"I was wondering, if you haven't already…" She looked down a bit.

"If I, what?"

"Have you had anything to eat?" A hopeful look crossed her face.

"Uhh." Just the thought made his stomach growl madly. The woman giggled.

"I haven't"

"Would you like to have dinner with me? I mean, nobody really hangs out with me, and you don't hang out with anybody."

"Sure?"

"Yes!" She did a little celebratory dance, and then grabbed his hand.

"Let's go!" Isaac found himself dragged along, completely confused by this woman.

_She's utterly childish. _He did have to say her glee was infectious.

They flew past various hallways, only stopping for Shizuka to orientate. A few more hallways after the last turn, and they were at the Teacher's lounge. The lounge was fairly well furnished, and held the basic amenities of a kitchen. There were also vending machines.

"Here you go, meow." A few coins were passed to him. He'd only seen currency like this in museums.

"This is yen, right?" She nodded as she dug into the fridge. Isaac strolled over to the machines, and looked over everything in them. Coffee, tea, milk tea, something called "Pocari Sweat", along with other things that he couldn't figure out. One thing he did recognize was a bottle labeled "Coca Cola". Another relic he had seen in a museum.

"Aaaaaw. I can't find it."

"Can't find what?" He threw in a few yen, and hit the button for the cola. As it vended, he looked over to the woman.

"My sushi, it's not in here, meow." She slumped into a chair.

"What's it in?"

"A Tupperware."

"What's a Tupperware?"

"It's a plastic box, meow." She sat up a bit.

"You're from the future, right?" Isaac opened up the freezer, due to the fridge being bone dry of this Tupperware.

"Yeah." It didn't take long for him to find the frosted container in the freezer.

"Found it." Shizuka groaned again.

"Oh no, it's frozen." Popping the container open, it turned out that the rolls hadn't frozen.

"Oh, nevermind." Isaac shook his head. He could only think of how fast her mood switched, but quickly set out to open up his cola.

He'd always wondered what these things tasted like, and was pleasantly surprised by it. He finished the bottle in 3 gulps.

"So, what's it like in the future?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, is there space travel, aliens, phasers, photon torpedos, and stuff like that." The bottle winded up in the trash, and he took a seat.

"There is space travel, and for the longest time, I thought there were no aliens. Until a few years ago, that is."

"How where they? Were they big headed grey things? Did they come in a flying saucer, meow?" Isaac shook his head.

"No, I wish they were though." His tone dropped, and Shizuka noticed.

"Necromorphs was our name for them. They used dead flesh to make their bodies, it didn't matter what it was from. Man, woman, child, even infants weren't safe. They twisted the bodies, changing them into creatures with only one purpose. That purpose was to kill. The bodies had no major organs to target, so the only way to kill them was to remove the limbs." He lightly patted his cutter.

"That wasn't even killing it, it was stunning it. You'd have to destroy the cells themselves by burning or melting them down with acid. That was the only sure way to kill them." Isaac sat back, thinking about the Ishimura, Titan, and Tau Volantis. He'd been lucky that he was moving constantly.

"I'd rather not talk about it anymore". The teacher nodded solemnly.

"I have a question for you, though."

"What is it, meow?"

"As far as I've seen, why doesn't anyone hang out with you? You really don't seem like bad company at all." This was Shizuka's time to be morose.

"None of the other teachers want to hang out with me, because I don't want to eat human. It just sounds gross, nyah!" He definitely wasn't going to argue with that.

"I'm the outcast here, because I actually want humans and monsters to coexist. That's why I kept Tsukune's secret safe before he'd become a ghoul, meow."

"I almost killed him yesterday". Shizuka looked at him incredulously, but he beat her to the question.

"You probably want to ask why, huh?" She nodded. He took a deep breath.

"I… I'm a Necromorph-Human hybrid… Yesterday, it took control, and tried to kill him and a pink-haired girl." He felt the cola coming back up, and quickly slipped over to the trash. It tasted horrible coming back up.

"Have you talked to the Chairman?" Isaac shook his head.

"He already knew. Had a Holy Lock for me, just like Tsukune." Grabbing some water, he sat down again, feeling worse than he had felt when he woke.

"What about Tsukune? Did you talk to him?"

"Yeah. He said he isn't holding anything against me." The woman giggled.

"What's funny?"

"It's not unusual for something to try to kill him, meow. Most of his friends tried to kill him at one time, but he's a very forgiving kid."

_Crazy kid._

"Mr. Clarke, did you think over the Chairman's offer?"

"No, but I'm not seeing why I shouldn't. I'm a monster now, and the only way I'm becoming human again, is if I stay here." She nodded.

"Do you have any family? You know, to call."

"No. I'm from the future, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Do you miss your family?" Isaac sighed. He really didn't have family anymore, even back in his universe. His father had disappeared a long time ago, and his mother… She was dead to him. The only other people he cared for were either dead or out of reach.

"Only one. She wasn't really family."

"Girlfriend, nyah?"

"Yeah… What about you? Family, friends."

"None. Family passed a while ago, and friends." Shizuka huffed.

"Nobody likes me, except my Newspaper Clubbies."

"Oh."

"Mr. Clarke, do you want to be my friend?" He hadn't expected that, but he couldn't see why not. She was better company than most, if the past few hours have proven anything.

"Sure."

"Yay!" In the blink of an eye, he found himself pulled into a hug. An uneven one at that. She hadn't let him stand, and slammed his face into her cleavage.

_This is awkward._ As best he could while blinded, he tapped her arm.

"Oh, sorry!" She broke off the hug, red in the face from embarrassment.

"It's fine." His was a bit out of breath though, he'd never been smothered like that before.

"Uh." Isaac saw she was twiddling her thumbs nervously, still red in the face.

"Relax." She nodded uneasily.

"Uh, should we head back?"

"Yeah." They walked back to their rooms silently, he could tell she was still embarrassed from earlier. When they arrived at their respective rooms, Isaac unlocked his door.

"Well, good night, Mr. Clarke."

"Just Isaac, okay? I'm not sure about here, but friends call each other by their first names in my time."

"Oh, okay. You can call me Shizuka."

"Good night, Shizuka."

"Good night, Isaac." She smiled, then entered her room. He returned the smile, then entered his own. He rather enjoyed speaking to Shizuka, got his mind off of all the shit going on.

_I'll turn in for the night. _Unlike the previous night, he allowed himself to get relax, and enjoyed sitting on the edge of his cot.

_Maybe, just maybe. Things could be okay. _That feeling didn't last.

"Ellie…" He stared at the roof, feeling heavy again.

_I can't keep doing this. Holding on never helped._

_Isaac? Are you okay? _He shook his head.

_You aren't talking to me. Are you okay? You aren't this quiet usually?_ _What's wrong? You're acting like I'm not even there._

_Because you aren't, and I?_

_I'm just here…_

**Chapter 2-Finish**

**Holy moly, I'm loving this even more than usual. **

**Thankfully, I'm doing more and more. I'll have this story take its time unlike the original one I posted. **

**I reckon 8 or 9 chapters.**

**Alrighty, Nemesis out.**


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